


Phango19 One-Shot Collection

by ImAGiraffacorn



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Bad Parenting, Danny's Parents Know, Dissection, F/F, Gen, Ghost King Danny, Ghost court, Identity Reveal, Implied homophobia, It's Not Gay if She's Dead, It's not gay if he's dead, Mild Gore, Phango19, Post Reveal, danny phantom bingo, ghost king, good parenting, inverse trio, not angsty gore, phango 19, vengeful babes - Freeform, wes Weston - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21529237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImAGiraffacorn/pseuds/ImAGiraffacorn
Summary: Collection of one-shots I am writing for Phango19. First chapter is Inverse Trio and It's Not Gay If (S)He's Dead.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Danny Fenton & Dorathea "Dora", Danny Fenton & Frostbite, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton, Danny Fenton & Valerie Gray, Danny Fenton & Wes Weston, Valerie Gray/Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Valerie Gray/Sam Manson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 53





	1. Talks of Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> I will update characters, relationships, general tags, and warnings as I post. I will also be posting all this to my tumblr: mr-lancers-english-class

Sam snuggled in closer to Valerie, leaning her head on the other girl’s shoulder and pulling her legs in to her side. They were sitting on Val’s hoverboard, hundreds of feet above the center of Amity Park Park, watching the night sky. The air was slightly chilly and crystal clear. Fog layered the streets of the town below them, but hesitated to raise to their level. It was only a few minutes until the sun would begin to peak above the far horizon.  
“Val?” Sam whispered, breaking the silence.  
“Yeah, boo?”  
“What’re you thinking about?” Valerie looked down at her girlfriend to find Sam looking softly towards the east. She smiled.  
“Us, I suppose.” Sam glanced up to meet Valerie’s eyes, and laughed.  
“You’re such a romantic.”  
“No, I’m being serious!” Valerie was indignant.  
“Oh, I don’t doubt it. It’s just kinda adorable. Like one of those sappy romance novels.” Sam looked back off towards the pink tinted sky.  
“I don’t think romance novels normally center on a ghost and a ghost hunter, but that may just be me.” Valerie joined Sam in looking at the sunrise. “No, I was just thinking about what we’re going to do. You’re going off to Yale, and I’m going to still be here at APU. I don’t want to lose you, but everyone knows how long-distance things work out in college.”  
“Valerie-”  
“I’m not ready Sam. I’m not ready for any of it.”  
“Valerie-”  
“I love you, Sam, and I’m going to miss you so much and-.”  
“Valerie!” Sam pulled herself up to Valerie’s eye level. “I’m not leaving. I’m going to Amity Park University too.” Her white hair remained dead still, even as the morning winds ripped over the hoverboard.  
“What?”  
“I never wanted to leave, and I talked my parents into paying for APU.”  
“When did that happen?” Valerie cocked her head. Sam smiled sheepishly, but failed to look sorry.  
“Last Friday. I was going to surprise you at your graduation party today,” said Sam. Valerie’s face morphed from happy shock to anger faster than Sam could have expected.  
“Do not tell me you gave up Yale for me!” She huffed. “Yale, Sam. Yale!”  
“It wasn’t for you!” Sam rushed to get out, before backtracking. “That came out wrong. Um, it wasn’t entirely for you? No, that’s not right.”  
“I swear to God-”  
“I can’t leave Amity Park. Not for college, at least”  
Valerie froze. Her face was aglow with the rising sun, but she wasn’t paying attention to that anymore. “What’s that supposed to mean, boo?”  
“I can’t leave Amity Park. It’s my lair, and so the longer and the farther I go, the more it hurts. If I’m gone too long, I’d disappear. Dissolve into free-floating ectoplasm until I made it back. Either way, I’m not even sure I want to leave. I like it here.”  
“But your parents-”  
“I’m moving out the week after graduation. They’re paying for college, but I don’t want them to have any other control over me.” Valerie was struggling to process all of this at once. “And I’ll be fine on money. I technically have a job at FentonWorks, even if they don’t realize it’s me. They don’t know why ghosts need money, but they’re still paying me. I’ll be fine. Also, Danny has decided to move in with me, so he’s gonna help cover rent.”  
“You’ve got this all figured out.”  
“I’ve been planning for years, to be honest,” Sam whispered. “I’ve got my own bank account, I’ve had it since sophomore year. My parents don’t know about it.” She laughed. “They also don’t realize that I’ve already packed all of my stuff. They think it’s my little rebellion, that I’m gonna pay for my own apartment and live on my own like a good college student.”  
“But this is it.”  
“Yeah. We graduate, they host some big party on Saturday, and then Sunday I walk out for good with three trunks and two backpacks. And we can actually date.”  
“We are totally actually dating!” Valerie interjected. Sam laughed.  
“Ah yes. Because sneaking out at four am by literally flying out of our respective windows to meet up in our secret identities that literally four other people know about counts as really dating. I want to actually be able to spend time with you. In public. I want to go to the movies, or have a picnic in the park. I want to be able to do the little mundane things with you.”  
“That makes sense.”  
The girl’s went quiet, watching as the sun finished it’s climb above the horizon. The fog that seemed to extend for forever was pink and orange and red and purple as it snaked it’s way east.  
“I love you Sam.”  
“I love you too, Valerie.”  
“We should probably head home before your parents get curious as to where you are.”  
“That would be awkward. ‘Hey Mom. Hey Dad. I’m the town’s dead anti-hero! Don’t mind as I sneak in through my roof from a sunrise date with my girlfriend.’” Sam laughed as she picked herself up off the hoverboard and stretched out. “Are you not worried about your dad?” Now it was Valerie’s turn to laugh.  
“I was, like, a month ago. He kinda caught me sneaking back in two weeks ago, but it was almost adorable. He gave this big spiel about how he trusted me to be smart with who I dated, and he had suspected I’d been out as the Huntress, and he just wanted to me to know that he still loved me, no matter my sexuality.”  
“Hey! It’s not gay if one of us is dead.”  
“He did not agree with that sentiment.” Valerie snorted as Sam fake-winced.  
“Oof! It’s better than when the Fenton’s were convinced that ghosts couldn’t comprehend gender or sexuality and so it was impossible for me to be a lesbian ghost, much less bi.”  
“That was an interesting take, I will give them that.”  
“And they knew about Johnny and Kitty at that point too!” Sam exclaimed through her bout of laughter.  
“So, I’ll see you at school today, right?” Valerie stood up and positioned herself on the hoverboard.  
“You couldn’t avoid me if you tried,” Sam shouted over her shoulder, flying off towards her parents mansion. Valerie took off in the opposite direction towards her apartment building. She only glanced back once, and managed to see a purple and green blur hazy against the early morning sky.  
It was going to work out for them, Valerie was sure of it. They would both be free soon.


	2. High Court of the Ghost King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wes Weston/Ghost King/Post Reveal  
> Danny tried to get himself some me-time and accidentally buries Amity Park in snow. Wes tried to follow Phantom and accidentally gets lost in dead Antarctica.  
> All Danny wanted was to get some sleep! Is that too much to ask?!?

Danny was not sure how this had happened. No, that’s not true. He knew exactly the series of events. He could trace back, day by day, to the moment this timeline had been set in motion. He also knew that that was a load of bull, and that he could easily manage to trace this as far back as he felt, being that he was the apprentice to the Lord of Time and all. As it was though, he was tracing it back to nine days earlier. Nine days ago when he’d been talking to one of the Far Frozen yetis in a back corner of Amity Park Park. That had led to four days ago when the largest blizzard in recorded history buried Amity Park in seven feet of snow, which had led to two days ago when he had gone flying off in the Specter Speeder to visit Frostbite to talk about how he did not mean seven feet, he had just meant enough to close Casper High for a few days so he could catch up on his sleep schedule and maybe actually get a book report finished. He hadn’t known about the stowaway, but he’d heard the news of a missing kid when he got back to his house. And then, three hours ago, Dora had sent a messenger to tell him that the yetis had apprehended a human trespasser. Given that he was the king of the Ghost Zone (and possibly also the god of the yetis) and that the human realm of Amity Park was his lair, he had complete jurisdiction over the human trespasser. He had been planning on just sneaking them out of the Ghost Zone and paying back Dora and Frostbite tomorrow. Of course, one hour ago, he’d found out that someone might have mentioned to someone else that there was a human in the castle who the _Ghost King himself_ had been summoned for, and word might have spread from there to another someone else, who may have told everyone they knew that there was going to be a trial, even though that was not ever conveyed to them.

And that was how Phantom found himself borrowing the courtroom of the Dragon Queen Dorathea, surrounded by hundreds of important ghosts from the far reaches of the Zone, glaring at Wes Weston. He had plans for the evening, damn it, and now he was here, holding court, because Wes _freaking_ Weston didn’t know when to stop. The air around Phantom seemed to warp with power and annoyance. Wes did not seem to understand the gravity of his situation.

“What the hell, Fenton?” One of the ghosts, a tall sharp fellow, stepped forward towards Wes and raised his hand menacingly.

“You shall refer to His Majesty by his proper title, or not at all, _human._ ” He spat the last word like the worst possible insult. Wes didn’t seem bothered.

“ _It’s alright Cornelius. He is unfamiliar with our customs._ ” Phantom called back his herald in the ghost tongue common in Dorathea’s kingdom. “ _As far as he is aware, I am simply his weak classmate who happens to be dead._ ”

“ _That does not excuse his behaviour, Your Majesty_ ,” Cornelius spoke angrily. “ _He must be punished for his insolence_.”

“ _I'm aware, Cornelius. And I plan on doing so-_ ”

“Seriously Fenton, what’s going on?” Wes was annoyed that no one was explaining anything to him. Phantom groaned. As much as he was pushed around at Casper High, no one dared interrupt him when he was holding court. Even Technus shut up when the Ghost King was speaking in court, and Phantom would not allow Wes to ruin that reputation.

“ _Cornelius_.” Phantom muttered and nodded towards Wes. Cornelius stepped up, and with a giddy expression, slapped Wes across the face. " _Thank you._ ”

Wes didn’t say anything, but he had fallen over backwards, eyes and mouth open in shock. Phantom waited for a few seconds. When Wes didn’t show any signs of getting back up, Phantom sighed and began the official court proceedings.

“For the sake of the human, I will continue in English. I am aware that not everyone understands English, so there are translators among you.” There was a pause as many of the onlookers moved around the stands to find said translators. When the shuffling quieted down, Phantom continued. “As of now, the High Court of the Ghost King is in session.” There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly the Crown of Fire sat amidst Phantom’s white hair and the Ring of Rage glowed on his right hand.

On the ground, Wes muttered “Ghost king?” under his breath. Phantom made eye contact with him, and continued.

“This human, Wes W. Weston, stands on trial, as requested by Lord Frostbite of the Far Frozen. Could the legal representative of the Far Frozen read the charges?”

A smaller yeti stood from within the crowd, and leaped down next to Wes, cracking the ground beneath them. Phantom and Wes both turned to the yeti. They pulled a scroll from a hidden pocket, opened it, and began to read. “The Far Frozen charges this human with stowing away on the Great One’s speeder, trespassing in the homes of Wintermire, Icebeam, and six others, and stealing food from Lord Frostbite.” The yeti rolled the scroll back up, bowed to Phantom, and leaped back into the crowd.

“And how do you plead, Weston?” Phantom turned back to Wes, who had finally managed to close his mouth.

“Um, uh…”

“Do you plead _guilty_ or not guilty?” Phantom asked, emphasizing the first option. It would be so much easier for both of them if Wes stated his own guilt.

“I uh, I plead guilty?” Wes whispered, confusion written across his face. Cornelius turned to Phantom, who nodded back.

“The King accepts your guilt,” Cornelius shouted. The crowd applauded, though many were disappointed. They had wanted to see the human on trial for more.

“Are there any other charges to be brought against Weston?” Phantom scanned the room. He could see the various nobility and common ghosts alike frantically trying to come up with a crime Wes had committed, but none of them were confident enough in their ideas to challenge Phantom. They could see the King was tired and wanted to get this over with. “Alright then. By the power vested in me, I declare you, Wes Weston, guilty of stowing away, trespassing and stealing. For stowing away, I sentence you to twenty hours of service, as dictated by Lord and Lady Fenton of Amity Park. For trespassing eight times, I sentence you to eighty hours of service upon your death, as dictated by Lord Frostbite of the Far Frozen. For your thievery, I sentence you to fifty hours of service upon your death, as dictated by Lord Frostbite of the Far Frozen.” Phantom finished, and the crowd cheered. The yetis present were by far the loudest, especially Wintermire, who already had plans for what Wes was going to do for him.

_“I now declare the High Court of the Ghost King closed. All are dismissed.”_ Phantom floated up from his seat as the Ring and the Crown disappeared in another flash of light. The rest of the ghosts began slowly filtering out. Many were taking their time to converse with friends or to see what would happen next. It had been quite some time since a human had stood trial and not been sentenced to death in the Ghost King’s Court. It had also been quite some time since the Court had been held, and Phantom was so different to the previous King, that many weren’t sure that was a bad thing.

Phantom lowered himself down to where Wes had managed to finally stand up, and switched back to English. “And now, asshole, I’m taking you back home. Follow me.”

Wes followed as Phantom floated down a corridor hidden in shadows in the back of the room. They moved in silence for a few minutes, before Phantom pulled a hidden ladder down from the roof.

“Up you go,” he said. Wes climbed the twenty feet up to a panel in the roof of the hallway. Phantom had already flown through the roof, and Wes was not keen on being left behind.

He poked his head out into surprisingly bright open air. The Fenton Specter Speeder was parked twenty yards away, and Phantom was off to the side talking to a very well dressed female ghost.

_“Thank you for letting me know, Dora. And thanks for letting me borrow the courtroom.”_

_“Of course, Danny. You’re my friend.”_

_“No, but seriously, thank you. If there’s anything I can do,”_ He gestured vaguely.

_“Come by tomorrow for tea. And do bring your friends. It’s been too long since we’ve had time to relax together.”_

_“I will. School is still closed for at least a week, so we can stay for longer this time.”_

Dorathea laughed. _“From what I heard, you may have had something to do with that.”_ Phantom winked, but didn’t answer.

_“I will see you tomorrow, Your Majesty.”_ He bowed.

_“And I will see you tomorrow, Your Majesty.”_ Dorathea bowed as well. When they both straightened up, Phantom went in for a hug. If Wes didn’t know about Danny and Sam, he would have thought there was something going on here. They were hugging very tightly.

“Now then, Mister I-Think-It’s-A-Good-Idea-To-Sneak-Off-Into-The-Land-Of-The-Dead,” Phantom was right in front of Wes now, shocking him out of his thoughts. “Get in the Speeder.” Wes did as he was told.

Phantom expertly piloted the ship into the Ghost Zone’s sky and set it on autopilot to the Fenton portal, before making his way to the passenger section of the ship, where Wes was being uncharacteristically quiet. He let his transformation rings wash over him, reverting his color scheme back to normal and setting him down on the floor with a clunk.

“I know you have questions. We have two hours before we reach the portal.” Wes made eye contact with Danny, who was relieved to see confusion and anger. He had been expecting emptiness, so this was a good sign.

“They called you the Ghost King.”

“Yes.”

“You’re the King of the ghosts?”

“The ghosts, and the Ghost Zone, and sort of the human realm as well, but that’s more just a title than anything. It keeps most of the ghosts out of Amity though, so I guess it comes with some perks.”

“Do they know you’re,” Wes gestured wildly at Danny. “You?”

“You mean, do they know I’m just an undead corpse being possessed by my own revived soul?” Wes nodded apprehensively. Danny snorted. “Yeah, yeah they do. I actually think it makes them more likely to respect me as their king. I’m not your average ghost. I’m powerful. They like that.”

“Who was that ghost you were talking to, that lady at the end?”

“Dora? Oh, she’s the Dragon Queen. We were in her castle.”

“Wait,” Wes held up his hands to make sure Danny would listen. “If she’s the Queen, and your the King, does that mean…” He trailed off. Danny laughed once and shook his head.

“No, not at all. I’m the Ghost King, as in, all ghosts everywhere and that whole thing. She’s the Dragon Queen, meaning she’s the queen of the Realm of the Dragons. It’s sort of like she’s the governor of New York, but I’m the President. There are a bunch of other minor kings and queens throughout the Zone, but I’m on top. Dora’s just a good friend. She helped a lot with teaching me how to actually be the King.”

“Do your parents know about all of this?” Wes asked.

“Yeah, they do.”

“That’s why they’re always so quick to shut me down whenever I say anything about you as Phantom.”

“Yup!” Danny said, popping the ‘p’ sound. “It’s not super helpful to my whole ‘stay under the radar because there’s at least one government agency that would love to take me away’ thing when you’re going around shouting about how I’m Phantom.”

“But you are.”

“Uh huh, but I don’t want anyone to know. It’s safer for me when they don’t know.”

“And you’ve never said any of this before because?” Wes trailed off, waiting for Danny.

“Because I fully expected you to go off and tell the whole school if I said anything. I’m only telling you now because I had Cornelius slap you and I want to make up for that. Also, because now you’ve seen what I can do if you do to you if you say anything.” Danny smiled, and Wes could have sworn he saw a glint of light reflecting off of fangs. “By the way, that sentencing was serious.”

“Wait, what?”

“Oh yeah. I can’t just let you get off. You committed some pretty serious crimes, at least by ghost standards. When murder’s off the table, other stuff is significantly worse. The only reason you aren’t being executed right now is because I’m nice. Pariah would have had you killed without a second thought.”

“What was my sentence again?”

“Of course you weren’t listening,” Danny muttered. “Just a lot of community service. Most for Frostbite when you actually die and become a ghost, so you got some time there, but some for my parents.”

“Why for your parents?”

“You snuck into their house, onto their Speeder, and now they’re taking the flack because you’ve been gone for two days and everyone is blaming them and their ghost portal. And the ghosts recognize them as being positions of authority over the human realm, so I can.”

“So you’re making me work for them? For free? Isn’t that child labor, or slavery, or something?”

“No, not at all,” Danny said. “Because neither Danny Phantom nor Danny Fenton are going to make you do anything. Danny Fenton has no authority over you, so that’s useless.” He smirked. “Danny _Phantom_ , on the other hand, is both the ghostly ruler of your entire town, and also the dead guy who saved your life, so when he _suggests_ you do something, it’s a good idea to listen.”

Wes nodded, eyes wide.

“So, you’re going to get back to Amity Park and tell everyone how you were kidnapped by a ghost, just any generic ghost, please don’t come up with or use a preexisting name, and then you’re going to say that Phantom came and rescued you. Now, like anyone who was just threatened by a dead man, you want to learn how to defend yourself and how to protect the town from ghosts in the future, so you’re going to tell your parents that you want to help out at FentonWorks. My parents can find something for you to do. Of course, all of this is just a suggestion from Phantom, but I’d recommend you listen.” Wes nodded again.

“No, I got it. I got it.”

“Good, because if you don’t, I will have to change your sentence to something significantly harder. After all, as the eternal overlord of the dead, the god of the cold, and the junior apprentice of Time, I need to set an example, and many of my subjects have a deep-rooted sense of justice.” Wes stayed silent as Danny finished. After a few minutes with not a peep between them, Danny made his way back to the cockpit and took over the controls.

Wes saw the flash that indicated that he was back to being Phantom up there, but didn’t react. He was already planning on how to get out of this. If the Fenton’s knew, that would make it harder, but he’d also probably come away with more information about both Fenton and Phantom. Maybe that would be enough to convince his classmates...


	3. The Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jack and Maddie Fenton catch Danny Phantom, Dani Phantom is the only one knows. But just because she's the only one who has any idea that Danny is in trouble doesn't mean she won't find help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Dani is (physically) the same age as Danny, because if we’re just going to accept that clones are totally scientifically possible and that Danny’s clone is a female whereas he is a male, it makes more sense to me that Dani is the same age as Danny and ages like a normal human (halfa?).  
> Also, I’m going to pretend that Valerie does not know that Danny knows she’s the Huntress, because I have no memory of whether this is canon and honestly, canon is weak and will not survive the winter.

Dani wasn’t sure how she was going to explain this to Valerie. She was flying as fast as she could and it wasn’t fast enough but she also needed to think but she needed to focus to be able to think and couldn’t focus on that right now, no, because she didn’t need to crash into _another_ jet and so she had to fly first and brainstorm second but there wouldn’t be time to brainstorm later so she _needed_ to think now!

A bird squawked angrily off to her right, shocking Dani out of her thoughts and forcing her to slam to a halt. She glared at the bird as it gave her the stink eye before flying off. 

“I’m stopped anyway. I need to catch my breath. I’ll think of something right now,” she muttered to herself. “Alright. What do I know? Danny’s been caught. Danny needs my help. Sam and Tucker are out of town. Jazz is at college. None of the three of them know. Vlad’s minion contacted me to tell me. Because Vlad was caught too. The Fenton’s managed to catch them both. ” Dani took a moment to scream internally. She had thought she’d been free of Vlad, that he couldn’t ever find her. Danny had said he’d changed, that he was becoming more of a crazy uncle figure than a fruitloopy asshole, but Dani was loathe to trust the man. “Vlad knows how to find me. No, if he actually has changed, maybe he doesn’t but his minions do. Skulker definitely does. That’s probably it. Skulker’s always been able to find me, and now maybe this time it’s because Danny and Vlad need help and not because he wants to hunt me for sport.” She barked out a sharp laugh. “Why is my life so weird?”

With a quick inhale, Dani took off flying as hard as she could towards Amity Park. It was only a few more minutes away. She could feel the ectoplasm in the air grow thicker, and her speed increased accordingly.

“Danny and Vlad are caught by the Fenton’s and everyone who knows their secrets are out of town except Valerie. And Valerie doesn’t really like either of them, though maybe not as much.” Dani thought back to the last phone call she’d had with her girlfriend. Valerie had mentioned that she and Phantom had a truce, that they had started to work together more to stop the ghosts, and that, for the first time in the three years she had been the Red Huntress, she was getting enough sleep and finishing most of her homework. Though she hadn’t talked to Danny in a while, Dani was pretty sure the same could be said of him. It had taken too long for both of them to be willing to work with the other.

“But Valerie doesn’t know. She knows about me, but she doesn’t know about Danny or Vlad.” Dani slowed down as she entered the Amity Park airspace. The air was practically glowing with latent ectoplasm. “The less she knows about halfas the better, but also Danny should have told her forever ago and it would have made life so much easier for both of them. Agh! Why is he such an idiot?!” She veered off to the north and turned invisible. After a minute of scanning the identical apartments, she was pretty sure she had found Valerie’s. Lowering herself to the window, Dani knocked four times, paused, and knocked twice more.

The door inside slammed open. Valerie dashed across the floor, dove over her bed, and crashed into the wall with enough force to shake the ceiling lights. Throwing open the window, she whisper-shouted “Dannielle!”

Dani took that as her cue to re-enter the visible spectrum and slide through the open window. “Valerie! It’s so good to see-” She was cut off as Valerie smothered her in a hug. Dani melted in to Valerie’s arms and was very disappointed when the other girl pulled away. Disappointment was immediately replaced with a warm kiss. Valerie held Dani’s face, while Dani brought her hands up into Valerie’s hair and kissed back. It had been months since they’d seen each other in person and Dani never wanted this kiss to end.

And then she remember why she was back in Amity Park.

Dani pulled away from Valerie with a sharp inhale. Valerie tilted her head and gave her an odd look.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Valerie let go of Dani’s face and found her hands instead. “Something tells me you’re not back just to visit.” Dani shook her head miserably. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced herself to hold them in, at least until she could explain what was going on. Crying was so messy. It made life difficult when you had to worry about leaking eyes and hitching breaths, Dani decided.

“I need your help,” Dani whispered.

“Of course, Dani. You know I’m always here for you,” Valerie whispered back.

“It’s a, uh, it’s a ghost thing.”

Valerie’s eyes hardened into something dangerous. “Who’s ass do I need to kick?” Dani giggled once through the slow tears that were now streaking down her face.

“The Fentons’?” She tried to smile, but it was difficult.

“The Fentons? What did they do?”

“They got Phantom.” Dani could practically see the gears turning in Valerie’s head as she mouthed ‘The Fentons have Phantom’ a few times. “And, and Plasmius, but he’s not really my priority.”

“They have Plasmius too? The Fentons caught Vlad and Phantom?” Valerie quickly maneuvered to the other side of the room to close her door. It wouldn’t do well for her dad to get home and see her plotting with Phantom’s identical clone.

“Yeah, a few hours ago. Skulker found me to tell me and- wait, I never said Vlad. I said Plasmius,” she said slowly. Valerie knew Dani wasn’t exactly a full ghost or a full human, and also that Dani was literally a clone of another being who happened to have a hodge-podge mix of memories from said being. Valerie did not know that Danny and Vlad were halfas, or really even about the existence of halfas. Unless-

“No, I know that’s what you said, baby. But, well, Vlad Masters is Plasmius and oh you already knew-” Valerie saw the look in Dani’s eyes and put it together faster than Dani would have expected. “He’s like you, isn’t he? Plasmius?”

“Sort of. He’s more human, and he’s not a clone. We’re called halfas, but Vlad is mostly just a human infected with ghostliness and I’m technically a clone of a halfa and not a full halfa.” Dani paused. This was getting closer to Danny’s secret than she would like. Unfortunately, Valerie was smart, and Dani knew she already had theories.

“I take it Phantom is a halfa?” Dani nodded. “And the Fenton’s have caught him. And they’re probably going to experiment on him.” Dani nodded, smaller this time. “So we need to rescue him. And Vlad,” Valerie added as an afterthought. “Do you have a plan?”

Dani took a deep breath before speaking. “Sort of. Maybe. I sneak into FentonWorks while you cause a big distraction somewhere, something that looks really dangerous. The problem is that, according to Skulker, there’s a ghost shield around the house that basically puts a full stop to anything ghostly inside. No powers.”

“Then I should be the one to sneak in to FentonWorks. It’ll be easier for me to escape, and I don’t want you to get caught too,” Valerie suggested. Dani shook her head.

“You’d be just as powerless as me. Your suit is powered by ectoplasmic energy, and is possibly psychically linked to you, though I’m mostly guessing on that one. You would be weaponless, and also, if they saw you, the Fenton’s would definitely recognize you. I at least have some anonymity. Plus, I can escape into the Ghost Zone easier. You’ve got a big target on your back in there.”

“Makes sense. So I need to make a distraction” Dani nodded. “Okay. I have an idea.”

Exactly six minutes later, Dani was crouched on a roof opposite FentonWorks in her human form. Valerie had split off towards the park with a quick kiss three blocks back to enact her part of the plan. Right now, she would be off launching flash grenades in the middle of the park, making a big light show with some loud noises, but little property damage. Dani was waiting for the Fenton’s to notice and leave. It was taking too long and it was stressing her out and they needed to go because her cousin was in there and she needed to get to Danny and-

“Let’s go Maddie! There’s a powerful ghost in the park! Phantom will be here when we get back, and we can get a third strong ghost.” Jack Fenton had slammed the front door open with enough force to crack the wood. Maddie Fenton was right behind him carrying three thermoses, a vacuum, and at least seven ectoguns ranging in size from finger-gun to military-grade rocket launchers.

“To the RV!” Maddie shouted with easily as much enthusiasm though likely twice as loud. Dani winced at the volume. The neighbors might wake up, which would cause problems. As it was, she appeared to be okay for now. 

Dani watched as the RV screeched down the street and turned the corner towards the park. She fired off a quick text to Valerie, _JF and MF are on their way, be safe <3, _ before jumping down from the roof to land lightly on the empty street. It was almost two in the morning, so every other streetlight was off. She would have to make sure to thank Vlad for that later. It made it significantly easier to see the Fenton’s shield.

“And now I just walk through, make sure I’m not using any powers, no powers, all good…” She scrunched up her shoulders in anticipation of the sting that came with crossing a shield, and was through in half a second. “Alright, the door. Is it unlocked? Nope! Okay, so, um,” She didn’t bother searching for a key, preferring to aim the Fenton Wrist Ray Valerie made her wear at the look. It melted to nothing in a single shot and the door swung open. “Right then, now down to the lab!” She whispered with mock excitement.

Every single light on the first floor was turned on. Dani imagined that the Fenton’s hadn’t left the basement since they captured Danny, and so probably had no idea it had gotten so late. Danny would occasionally tell her about his parents, how obsessive they could be. 

She found the door to the basement laboratory easily. It was right next to the kitchen, which seemed like a potentially very dangerous idea, and was covered in bright yellow warnings about ectoplasm, radiation, and general danger. She quickly snuck down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible despite knowing she was alone in the house. If she got caught, well, from a purely selfish note, that would be very bad.

The stairs led into a large cluttered room that was surprisingly open. On the far wall, the closed portal sat menacingly. In the middle was a table. Lying on the table, limbs and head strapped down with glowing leather, was Phantom. His black suit with trademark logo was missing from the waist up, where a gaping hole showing his innards was instead. Thankfully, he appeared to be asleep. Dani almost threw up then and there. She settled for light gagging instead.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to see Valerie’s reply.

_The Fenton’s haven’t figured out it’s me yet. They’re still running around the park._

It buzzed again with a follow up.

_You be safe too babe._

Dani almost smiled before remembering where she was and who else was in the room. She glanced up to find Danny staring at her over his open stomach and yelped, dropping her phone. It clattered to the floor with a distressing sound.

“Danny?”

“Hey cuz!” He was way too enthusiastic, Dani thought, given that he should be even more dead. “How are you?”

“Are- are you okay?” she whispered.

“Oh yeah, no I’m fine, I think. I mean, there’s this,” He glanced down at the dissection. “And whatever they strapped me down with is biting and I can’t phase through it, but other than that, I think I’m okay.” Dani bent over to pick up her phone. The screen wasn’t cracked, thankfully, but the case had a sizable dent in one corner.

“So, um, how do I get you out?” She looked back at Danny, pointedly ignoring the gaping wound.

“There’s a button on the side of the table. It’ll turn off the phase-proofing part, and I can get out from there.” Dani found the aforementioned button, and was distressed that it required a DNA sample.

“It, well, it needs DNA. I guess so other ghosts don’t come and break their cousins out.”

Danny laughed incredulously. His intestines jiggled. Dani swallowed bile.

“Everything in here is DNA coded to my parents, Jazz, and I. You’re the same DNA as me, so it should work.” Dani tried the button, and with a sharp prick of her finger to draw blood, it depressed. There was a generic powering down sound, and suddenly the leather stopped glowing.

Danny sat up as he phased his head and arms through their straps. After taking a second to rub his wrists and try and get the blood flowing, he reached _into_ his chest and removed a few metal devices. He then took the clamps holding his skin open and released them, folding his chest back into shape. Once everything was starting to heal correctly, he hopped down off the table.

It had been at least six months since Dani had seen her “cousin” in person, and she was a bit shocked to see that he was now at least an inch and a half taller than her. She was tall by human standards, almost six feet, but Danny had shot up. He was going to be close to his dad’s height, she thought numbly, trying to ignore the green stains on Danny’s chest.

“...back soon, so we need to go,” Danny finished saying. Dani blinked as she realized he’d been talking. “Dani? Dannielle?”

“I’m here. I’m good. Um, can you repeat what you were saying?”

“We need to dash. My parents will be back soon. At least something we just did will have triggered an alarm. “

“Oh, yeah, that. Um, we could go out the front, but I don’t have my powers right now so that’s riskier. The best option is the portal.”

“Seeing as I’m a bit stuck as Phantom right now, you need to open the portal. Same DNA lock, that sort of thing. Shouldn’t be any harder than the Fenton Ghost Straps.”

“You’re stuck as Phantom?” Dani asked, maneuvering around the vast piles of who-knew-whats to get to the portal.

“Well, not really, but I heal a lot faster as Phantom and ectoplasm stains are significantly easier to get out of clothing. Also, if it comes up, I don’t want to have to explain blood stains. My parents ask more questions when it’s blood,” Danny said. He was poking at the Y-shaped incision on his chest that was now at least no longer flapping with each step. Dani looked away.

“How come you have your powers at all right now? The ghost shield is shutting me down pretty heavily.” Dani asked, keeping her back to her cousin, because _god_ that was a disgusting sound and would he please just stop?

“Weird thing I discovered about shields. The more time you spend around them, the less the affect you. And it’s not just me. Dora, Johnny, Kitty, and Amorpho are all significantly less affected by shields now that I’ve been inviting them into town sometimes.”

“Huh. Weird,” Dani said. “So, which button is it?”

Danny came up next to her at a large control panel. “It’s this one here. Same thing as before, it’ll need a small blood sample, but you’re blood is identical to mine, so my parents won’t know.”

Dani pressed the button, and the portal slid open. Green energy shot out with a quiet roar as the basement turned the same shade as Danny’s organs. Dani was saved from this thought by her phone buzzing again, this time insistently.

“Give me a sec. Gotta take this,” she said over her shoulder. Danny nodded. She answered it.

“Dannielle? Are you there? Get out now!” Valerie’s voice was almost drowned out by the sounds of high winds. “The Fenton’s are coming back quickly. They’re like, two blocks out.”

Dani was proud that she didn’t panic. High stress situations were far too common in her young life, which, as disappointed as she was by this, helped in future high stress situations.

“On our way out. Phantom’s fine. We’re going through the portal. See you in a few minutes.”

“Sounds good. Love you.”

“Love you.” Dani smiled as she hung up. She turned back to Danny and was greeted with pleasant surprise. “I’ll tell you once we’re safe in the Ghost Zone.” Danny laughed.

“The Ghost Zone is never safe.” And he dove headfirst into the open portal. Dani heard the door upstairs slam open with no lock to impede the Fenton adults. Oh well. That’s what they get for kidnapping her cousin. She followed Danny through the portal without a glance back.

Immediately, she could feel her powers flow through her. She transformed giddily into her own ghost self and did a few loop-de-loops. Danny was waiting for her with a smile.

“So… you’re dating someone?” Dani groaned.

“Yeah, I am. We’ve been dating for almost a year now.”

“Do I get the honor of knowing how this person is?” The two halfas flew deeper into the Zone. 

“We’re about to meet up with her.” 

“Is she a ghost?” Danny did a barrel roll over top of Dani so he could fly sideways, on his stomach with his legs crossed in the air behind him and his chin resting on his hands. Dani rolled her eyes.

“No, she’s human.”

“So I take it she knows? About you? Does she know about me?” Danny rolled onto his back so he was looking at Dany upside down.

“Yes she knows about me. No she doesn’t know about you, but I think she suspects something.” Dani stopped and watched as her cousin went speeding by.

“And where exactly is she?” Danny asked, making his way back to Dani.

“In the human realm.” Dani reached her hands out into the air infront of her, and with less concentration needed than the last time she tried this, opened a rent in the fabric of reality.

The small portal, no larger than a bean bag, was swirling green and purple and smelled vaguely of cinnamon and apples. Danny whistled.

“You’ve gotten strong. I haven’t been able to do portals at all.”

“Well, I can’t hold them for long, so please do enter.” Danny flew through the hole in the fabric of the Ghost Zone. Dani took a deep breath and followed suit.

They emerged above Valerie’s apartment. Dani alighted on the gravel roof, and detransformed. Danny stayed hovering at her shoulder height. Within a minute, Dani could hear the whine of Valerie’s hover board, and soon spotted her girlfriend flying high above the city.

The Red Huntress circled the apartment once, before slowly lowering and retracting her hoverboard. She landed on both feet, and Dani lept forward to hug her. After far too short, Dani pulled away, because her cousin was spluttering behind her. She turned back to look at him, and was very releived to see that his jumpsuit had reformed. That’s good, she thought, because that was disgusting and I almost lost my lunch, and that would have gone badly for both of us.

“You’re dating Valerie?!” Danny practically shouted. Both Dani and Valerie shushed him equally as loudly. “Why didn’t you tell me? What? You’re dating Valerie?”

“Yes I am,” said Dani, at the same time that Valerie said “And just how do you know who I am?” They looked at each other and had a quick wordless conversation. It ended with Valerie retracting her full suit. Dani leaned in to kiss her cheek.

“You know who I am, Phantom.” It almost sounded like a question, but Danny had spent too much time around Valerie in the last four years of high school to mistake it as such. “You’ve known for a while now. And I suppose, I know who you are too.” Danny remained silent, so she continued. “I’ve known for a while, I just didn’t want to think about it.” Dani reached for Valerie’s hand and gave a light squeeze.

“I should have told you a while ago, Val. Sorry about that,” Danny muttered, landing lightly on the roof. “If I may ask, what gave it away?”

“You mean besides the name?” Danny nodded with a laugh. “How much Dani looks like you. Both sides of you. You guys do mention clone a fair amount, and even I’m not that blind.”

Danny let his transformation rings wash over him, and although she knew, Valerie was still a bit surprised to see Danny Fenton standing on her roof.

“So, then, now that all this is in the open, does anyone want food?” Danny asked, changing the subject. He stretched his arms up over his head. “Being dissected takes a lot of energy, and I am starving!” Dani smiled at her cousin. Valerie barked out a laugh.

“I guess, yeah.”

“Well then, to the Nasty Burger! Dinner is on me!” Danny transformed back and began to fly off. Dani and Valerie followed close behind.

“It’s four in the morning, Danny,” Dani yelled into the wind. “I think this counts as breakfast.”

“Time is irrelevant. Burgers normally means dinner, so dinner it shall be.” All three teenagers laughed.

“Are you guys just going to go in like this?” Valerie shouted.

“Wouldn’t be the first time, Val. Minimum wage workers tend not to ask too many questions about ghosts at ungodly hours.” 

They flew for a minute, trading light banter, before Valerie came to a screeching halt. Dani and Danny circled back around and hovered with her.

“Um, guys, did anyone get Vlad?”


	4. Stuck in the Thermos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny is stuck in the Fenton Thermos. And when he gets out, Jazz will pay.

It was supposed to be hard for a ghost to hold conscious thought within the Fenton Thermos. This was definitely a feature, not a bug. With enough practice, a ghost could eventually be able to think the most basic of thoughts while contained within the small cylinder. With years of practice, a ghost could retain full intelligence and awareness. Danny had never thought that would apply to him, and yet here he was, stuck in the thermos, thinking about a brain teaser Tucker gave him yesterday. He hated being in the thermos, and when he got out, Jazz would be in for it.

You’d think, he thought to himself, that after two full years, she’d actually be able to aim the thing. But no, she still hit him every other time. And now he was able to be mad at his sister, try and solve Tucker’s brain teaser, and still be aware of his surroundings. He was upset with Tucker’s brain teaser, because why would anyone need to know which of the twelve coins was heavier or lighter and why would they need to know like this? It was such a stupid riddle, but given that there was literally nothing else Danny could do but think, we was stuck on it. Jazz would be able to solve it in seconds, he thought grumpily, but I won’t tell her about it until I have solved it so that I can lord it over her. That’s what she gets for still sucking at using the thermos. Heh, sucking, thermos, good one. I hope she lets me out soon. I have homework. It’s got to have been at least twenty minutes, she should be home by now. Why isn’t she home yet? Maybe she forgot about me. That would be bad. If she did, Tucker and Sam will figure it out and let me out in the morning. It’ll be fine. Now, if I put those coins there and those coins there…

Jazz Fenton had not, in fact, forgotten about her brother. She had just decided he needed to be in time out. That’s what he gets for taking the last piece of non-reanimated bacon this morning, she thought triumphantly. Maybe this will teach him to respect me as his older sister. That should have been my bacon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The riddle in question is as follows: You have twelve identical coins and a basic scale. One of the coins is either heavier or lighter than the rest, but by how much you don’t know and you can’t tell. To figure this out, you get to use the scale exactly three times. You can put as many coins on the scale as you want at any given time, but you only get to make three measurements. How do you figure out which coin, and whether it is heavier or lighter?


End file.
